I write this with a bit of a heavy heart tonight, having just learned of Will Shortz's recent stroke. I hope you all join me in wishing him a full and speedy recovery.
Today's puzzle zooms out as you progress down the grid. To wit - the theme answers:
- SISTERCITY - what a "twin town" is called in Europe (and Canada as well)
- PURPLESTATE - hotly contested in a US election (this was new to me!)
- HOSTCOUNTRY - Paris, for the upcoming summer Olympics
- ALIENWORLD - ET's home, to us
Too bad there wasn't room for a fifth clue; e.g. "Arnold Schwarzenegger, in 1968-1970" - MRUNIVERSE! At any rate, this was neat mild Monday fare.
Not much else to report, looking through the grid. Interesting that an ALOHAPARTY happens when one leaves Hawaii....I did stumble slightly on "Store sign lit up during business hours" - I entered NEON and grumbled a bit, to the effect that NEON isn't a sign, it's what's IN the sign - but that was just a big red herring, as the answer was the much better OPEN... Did you know ALEX Trebek was born in Canada? Well, didja?
Incidentally, the grid comes to within a Q, a V and a Z from covering the alphabet. So close! I wonder if Mr. Evans thought of having a go at the pangram, but it just couldn't be made to work.
I give myself a C- for this review. Tomorrow will be a better day. See you then!
-philbo
Mr. Evans might have gone for the pangram in his constructing youth. But once I realized the quality of the solve was more important than constructor peacock feathers, I took a page from Patrick Berry’s book and decided “Who really cares about a pangram? It’s Monday. Hook more of them into our nerd world.”
ReplyDeleteHear hear!
DeleteI'm with Trent -- excuse me, I mean "Anonymous" -- on this. Really enjoyed the long fill. Philbo, your review deserves more than a C-. (And I knew Alex Trebek was born in Canada!)
ReplyDelete